Ash Cooper and Jason McCarty know they need to do one thing, and one thing alone: stay alive.An IED attack destroyed their convoy and left them both injured in the high desert of Afghanistan and running from insurgents. They take refuge with a group of Afghan civilians, and their only hope of rescue is two satellite phones that might be damaged beyond repair.Ash and Jason join forces with a British army nurse to survive the harsh living conditions. As days to turn to weeks, they think of home, the husbands they left behind, and the lives they want to return to.But with food rations running short, the elders angry at them, and the hope of rescue lost, Ash and Jason start to give up, and in the end turn to each other in their struggle for survival.Available at Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Boots-On-The-Ground-ebook/dp/B00AAODH6K/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359584364&sr=1-5&keywords=boots+on+the+ground

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Review:

I'm really glad I agreed to review this book for the post because I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I wish I had read book one first, but I will definitely be picking up a copy of Sometimes It's Fate. In Boots on the Ground, two gay police officers from Canada volunteer to serve in Afghanistan. Their convoy is attacked and they are the only survivors. They end up hiding out among the insurgents. Both men have partners at home, but after months of training and working side by side, they turn to each other for comfort.

I love the way the author portrays all the emotions the characters are going through. The narrator gets inside their heads and the reader can really empathize with them. Sometimes a scene is told from two points of view making the story even more emotional. And we also get a look at the pain of those who are at home waiting for word of their loved ones.

The story is told with flashbacks, which can be a little disorienting at times, but it worked for me. It's a very well-done realistic story and I recommend it highly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:The concussive force of the blast blew Ash backwards out of his seat. He could feel the armored vehicle turning end over end. It took him a moment to grasp the car had stopped. He felt dizzy and disorientated, blinking a couple of times. Where in the heck was he? The dust of the desert started to settle, and he remembered. Civilian police, Afghanistan, patrol convoy, IED.He started to move only to bite back a hiss of pain. His shoulder flared with agony. Motherfucker. He couldn’t tell what happened to his arm, but it hurt like a son of a bitch. His escort and their translator were the other people in the armored vehicle, and they were still and silent. Ash cradled his arm as he started to move, his training helping him to squelch the pain. They were in one of the most volatile and insurgent-ridden districts of Afghanistan. The IED blast had to have been huge to send their armored vehicle flying, especially one five cars from the lead. Ash glanced though the broken windshield. The force had blown them back and clear of the debris field. There were four vehicles up ahead, all burning or smoking. Ash checked again for signs of life in the other passengers around him. He found none.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Angela S Stone is a twenty something Registered Nurse living, and working in Ottawa Canada. Her first novel, Sometimes It’s Fate, was published by Phaze books in 2011. Angela finds inspiration in real life personal events for her books, often writing about issues and she is a proud Canadian and an even prouder girl from back east. She thoroughly enjoys writing novels featuring characters that live in or are from the Maritimes. She’s recently met Mr. Right and when she’s not occupied with him she can be found hanging out at her local starbucks writing. She spends her free time advocating for minorities and persons with disabilities. Angela has a severe learning disability called Dysgraphia. Despite this she has written several novels, graduated from university will be starting her Master’s degree in nursing. All things she was told she would never be able to do.Angela has never met a challenge that she couldn’t overcome. She believes strongly in the philosophy of saying “I can’t” means “I won’t” and advocating for yourself. She has spoken about these topics on provincial, regional and national levels. As well has published several articles in related disability orientated magazines.

BLURB:Beautiful, vivacious Emma Prescott has a love-'em-and-leave-'em reputation. Fact is, Emma's holding off for a hero. When she moves to a cabin at wilderness Loon Lake and meets her one neighbor biology professor Frasier MacKenzie, he's still just another guy, even with his killer blue eyes and body that just won't quit...until he rescues her and her Pug from one danger after another. Then he definitely falls into hero territory. But the professor has no intention of filling the role of white knight in Emma's life. All he wants is to be rid of her and her annoying little dog so he can get on with his research. In fact, he's ordered to get rid of them whether he wants to or not. Looks like Emma may have to go on holding off for a hero...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:She floored the gas, and they took off with a squealing of tires. “Hey, hey!” he yelled. “Slow down! The speed limit is 100 km. You’re heading to 130!”“Look, I told you, I’m in a hurry!” she exploded.“I’ve got a ton of things to do back at the cabin. You see,” she continued, quieting and sounding sly, “I’m having a party tonight. I have to get ready.”“A party? You’re having a party? At the lake?”Ah, man, that just about tears it.“Actually, a bachelorette bash. One of my teacher friends is getting married next week, and a bunch of us decided we’d give her a real whing-ding of a sendoff…up at my cabin where there’ll be no witnesses. Teachers and the likes of myself have reputations to think of, you realize.” She cast him a wicked glance.“So there’ll be music and a lot of noise and…”The Professor’s blood pressure would skyrocket when he gave him this information.“Oh, y-e-a-h.” She dragged out the last word.“Couldn’t you have it somewhere else? Like a male strip joint in town?”“Didn’t you hear what I just said about teachers and others of that ilk? We can’t be seen parading into one of those places. Our superintendent would suspend every last one of us. Anyway…” She looked over at him. “I don’t see why it should be such a big deal for you. You don’t have to keep banker’s hours. If the noise bothers you, stay up, watch a video, and sleep in on Sunday morning.”“Okay, okay, but will you please keep your eyes on the road? And slow down! There’s a speed trap somewhere along…”Behind them a siren wailed.“Quick!” she ordered, pulling over as the police cruiser rolled alongside. “Hunch over and clutch your chest!”

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Welcome Lara Nance, who is here as part of the blog tour for REVENGE OF THE MAD SCIENTIST.Enjoy the excerpt and don't forget to leave a comment.Lara will be awarding an autographed original map of Arabella's steampunk world to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop, and a $50 Amazon gift card and an original steampunk necklace to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Also a steampunk
necklace will be awarded to a randomly drawn host.

If you sign up for Lara's newsletter on her website from Jan 29 - Feb 3, you will be entered for an autographed copy of her book as well as an original steampunk necklace.Follow the tour and comment for a better chance of winning. The tour dates can be found here:http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-super-book-blast-revenge-of-mad.html

Revenge of the Mad Scientist

by Lara Nance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:When Lady Arabella Trunkett’s father, the High Lord Minister of Urbannia is kidnapped, all clues point to the mysterious country of Gandiss and the world is thrown into political upheaval.Arabella is convinced the more sinister nation of Carabarras is to blame, urged on by a mad scientist seeking revenge. So, she sets out on a perilous airship journey across a variety of exotic locales to save him, and halt the potential world war.But airship pirates, secret assassins and slave traders aren’t her only trials. The fickle hand of fate has made the captain of the only airship available for charter, the man who left her at the altar. For eight years she's wished him dead. Now he's her only hope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:“Oh!” She jumped up, put a hand in her purse and withdrew the handkerchief. “I forgot to tell you about this. I found it on the floor in the room from which Father was taken. I’m positive he left it as a clue but I’m not sure what it means.”Benji took the piece of cloth with the stick pin and his youthful face screwed up in concentration as he examined it, then he bolted to his feet “D, d, dash it all, Belle. Do you know what this is?”She shook her head and her heart raced at his tone.“It’s a ceremonial j, j, jewel given to the Sarcs of Carabarras.”Her eyes widened. She’d heard of the secret group of assassins but didn’t know any more than the general public. She hoped her adopted boy genius had more details. “You’d better explain.”“The Sarcs are t, t, taken as children and trained within the secret organization. When they finish their t, t, training, they’re given a task to fulfill. Usually that means k, k, killing someone. If they're successful, they’re given the t, t, title of Sarc and one of these.” He held up the gold and ruby pin. “They wear it on the inside of their c, c, cloaks and never take it off until they die.”“Or until it falls out of their cloak while they’re kidnapping someone…or…that someone steals it as a clue.” Belle hadn’t really examined it, so she reached out and took it from him. She turned the pin around seeing it in a new light. The golden head resembled some type of flower and the large ruby was planted in the middle of the blossom. She looked up at Benji.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Lara Nance grew up and lived in many cites throughout the South. She loves to write in a variety of genres, but the basis of all of her stories is a great tale that will take you on an adventure of imagination. If you want to escape and lose yourself in a novel, you've come to the right place. Choose your genre and settle in to be entertained. From thrilling mysteries and steampunk tales, to paranormal romance and adventure, she's willing to explore a variety of compelling stories full of danger and suspense, along with a touch of romance.Having been on the fencing team in college and now living on a sailboat convinces her that she was a pirate in another life, or possibly kin to Errol Flynn… However, due to the unfortunate demise of the romantic pirates of the past, she lives out her fantasies, thrills and adventures in her stories. Lara loves to weave interesting true historical tidbits into her fiction which invite the reader to explore further after the novel is finished.Currently docked in Norfolk, Virginia (until the wind changes) Lara enjoys living on her sailboat and spends time reading, of course writing, indulging a variety of artistic endeavors, cooking and sailing with her husband, Joe and their Yorkie, Rio. Link to Website:www.laranance.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/Lara_NanceFacebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lara-Nance-Author/164262596944196?ref=hl

Friday, January 25, 2013

Three hot and romantic military tales from the pen of uniform aficionado, Lucy Felthouse.

The Military Wife

Tess’ salacious fantasies about her husband, Aidan, see her through the long periods of time when she doesn’t see him—when he’s away on tour with the Army. The rest of the time, she has to deal with day to day life alone. One day, a dull chore is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of her husband, and things quickly hot up in their kitchen, and beyond.

Passing Out Passion

When Christina attends her brother’s passing out parade with her parents, she’s full of pride at his achievement. What she’s not expecting, though, is to bump into old flame Phil Ashdown. They didn’t part on good terms and the atmosphere between them is awkward. But when they’re forced into conversation, it turns out that all those years ago, there was a misunderstanding. One that can very easily be put right.

Double Vision

Becky’s a military wife with a uniform fetish. She loves nothing more than having fun in the bedroom with her squaddie husband, where they share and act out many of their fantasies. However, there’s one fantasy that she’s never divulged, as it breaks their rule about bring other people into their sex life. One day, though, Becky decides to bite the bullet and tell Paul everything. She never expects him to make her fantasy come true. But then, Paul’s a very resourceful man.

Tess grumbled to herself as she heaved the shopping bags out of the boot of her car. It was a pain in the arse having to do this all by herself. Yet she’d been through this more than once, and it was going to be for the foreseeable future. May as well just get on with it and shut up moaning, she thought.

Just as she got to her front door and started fumbling for her key, risking dropping all her bags in the process, a voice said, “Let me help you with that.”

Tess dropped the bags.

She whirled to face the owner of the voice, unadulterated joy on her face.

“Aidan!” she shrieked. And, without caring who could be watching, she hurled herself into her husband’s arms. Luckily, Aidan had been fully expecting this kind of greeting and had braced himself. Supporting his wife’s bottom with his hands as her legs clasped around his waist, he felt himself stiffening almost immediately. You couldn’t blame him though, it had been months since he’d been home.

As she took his face in her hands, Tess was almost teary with happiness. She leaned in for a kiss that would show her husband exactly how much she’d missed him. Tightening her legs around him, she smiled into his mouth as she felt his erection nudging against her bottom.

What seemed like hours later, the couple finally came up for air. Surveying the damage around them, Tess made a quick decision.

“Grab the other bags while I dump this lot in the kitchen. Then lock the door behind you and get upstairs.”

Grinning, Aidan moved to do as he was told. Tess scrabbled items back into carrier bags and rushed into their home to put them down. Now the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it. But she didn’t care. Her man was home. Smiling to herself, she turned as Aidan came in with the rest of the bags. She gestured to the floor and he put them down.

“Corporal Scott reporting for duty ma’am,” he said, snapping her a smart salute.

Bastard, she thought, he knows what it does to me when he goes all military on me. We’ll be lucky to make it upstairs at this rate.

Tess drank in every inch of her husband. The climate in Afghanistan had given him a decent tan, but of course he hadn’t been on holiday. He’d been fighting a war, and she was eternally grateful that he’d come back to her in one piece. He was still wearing his combats, with the regulation boots, but no headgear. He looked hot.

“Come here, soldier,” she said, crooking a finger, “and kiss me.”

*****

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over seventy publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include Best Bondage Erotica 2012 and 2013, and Best Women's Erotica 2013. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati.

Supermodel Jayme Alan has strutted on catwalks all over the world, but his glamorous career comes to an end when his boyfriend, celebrity designer Victor Velasquez, dumps him for a younger man. After drowning his sorrows in alcohol, Jayme gets a chance to make a comeback. It's only a small show in Key West, but it includes a week's vacation at the clothing-optional gay resort, TomCats.

It's lust at first sight when Torque Bowman, part owner of TomCats, meets Jayme. Torque thinks he's found the submissive man he's been looking for and he plans to ask Jayme to extend his visit. But when Torque finds a magazine article about Jayme and Victor, he flies into a jealous rage and breaks off all contact with the model. A hurt Jayme flies back to New York and eases the pain by throwing himself into his career. Torque discovers the truth, but is it too late for another shot at love?

Jayme Alan caught his breath and waited for his turn on the catwalk. Backstage was always chaotic. He’d been pulled in so many directions—hair, makeup, photos—he needed a few minutes to decompress. He needed Victor.

Where are you?

Jayme tried not to fidget, but he felt like he might explode. His left thumb started rubbing circles on his index finger. For some reason, the embarrassing habit comforted him.

The new guy blew past Jayme and almost knocked him over. How did Yukio manage to look so cool, calm, and confident on his first runway walk?

“Break a leg,” Jayme muttered under his breath. And I don’t mean it in a good way.

Jayme’s anxiety increased, and his fingers moved faster. Seconds ticked by. Without Victor’s final approval, he wouldn’t be able to step onto the catwalk when he heard his cue. He looked around wildly.

The designer always came over to give Jayme’s outfit a last-minute check. Victor Velasquez had an eagle eye that missed nothing. He would straighten a seam or tuck a loose pleat, and then he’d lace his fingers with Jayme’s and give them a quick squeeze for good luck. Jayme might be a supermodel, but without this ritual, he could not step onto the runway. If the reassuring routine made him feel secure and confident, what was the harm?

Ah, there you are.

Jayme tried to catch Victor’s eye, but the designer, deep in conversation with Yukio, didn’t see him. The new boy was a damn good actor, wringing his hands like a nervous Nellie while Victor fussed like a helicopter parent hovering over his kid. Only this kid was a six-foot Asian beauty with colorful peacock feathers woven into his long black hair. Practically drooling, Yukio, hung on the designer’s every word. Victor seemed entranced by him as well. Jayme had ceased to exist. There was a time when Victor hovered and flapped his wings over Jayme in that same way. Watching Victor treat the new boy the way he used to coddle Jayme sent waves of jealousy crashing through his body.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Today I'm featuring Eliza Daly's Super Book Blast for Under Her Spell.

Enjoy the excerpt and don't forget to leave a comment. Eliza
will be awarding one $25 GC, and three $10 GCs for
either Amazon or BN to a randomly drawn commenters during
the tour, and a $20 Amazon or BN gift card to a randomly drawn host.

Follow the tour. The more you comment, the better your chances of
winning. The tour dates can be found here:

When a series of failed relationships and business ventures have Monica Jackson doubting her self-worth, she turns to spell casting to attract positive energy and the opportunities needed to achieve her goals. But can Monica’s belief in spells restore her belief in herself?

Monica creates a spell to find her soul mate, and one to ensure the success of her new romantic event planning company, Enhance Your Romance. Monica is confident she has found her niche until divorce lawyer Reed Walker opens a practice next door to her office. The anti-marriage slogan plastered on his office window, and his down-on-love clients, quickly prove detrimental to Monica’s business. When his arrival appears to trigger a string of bad luck, Monica fears one of her spells sent negative energy into the universe and it has returned to her threefold. Although Reed is beyond sexy, and she admires his self-confidence, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the universe back on her side, and Reed out of her life. No way is she losing another business.

Reed finds himself attracted to Monica’s beauty and her optimism. His job and his parents’ divorce have made him a pessimist, especially when it comes to love. However, he soon finds that Monica’s pro-love attitude is rubbing off on him, causing him to lose his edge. If Reed doesn’t distance himself from Monica, he’ll likely destroy his reputation as a pit bull divorce lawyer.

Can Monica and Reed look past what they might be losing to realize the love they have found?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

Prologue

“A spell … ” Hope mused, then her face lit up. “If there’s a spell to attract a man to a woman, there must be one to repel women from a man. Right?”

“Spells shouldn’t involve negative energy. Sending out negative energy can cause it to return threefold. They aren’t intended to harm someone or make them do something against their will.” Jordan had drilled this into her head.

“I wouldn’t be making Kyle do anything against his will. I’d be warning women to stay away from him.”

Sounded borderline.

“Please,” Hope whined, picking a clump of batter from her long, wavy hair.

Monica let out a defeated groan. “All right.” Hope would never actually cast the spell anyway. When they were young, Hope refused to wear a Casper costume for Halloween because she didn’t believe in ghosts. She was closed-minded when it came to paranormal or New Age beliefs. And you had to truly believe in a spell for it to work.

Monica set down the bowl of salt and grabbed a pencil and pad of paper off her desk and handed them to Hope. “Write this down. It’s called,” she tapped a hot pink nail against her lip, “the dirtbag spell. Take one of Kyle’s socks, fill it with dirt, and add a photo of him. It’s critical you aren’t in the photo.” Monica paced, tightening the sash on her lavender silk robe. “Include something of his like … ”

“His new Rolex?”

Personally, Monica would list the watch on eBay and pray for a bidding war. But Hope, no matter how ticked off, was too timid to sell Kyle’s precious watch, and too frugal to risk damaging it by mixing it with dirt.

“That’s fine. Sew up the sock and bury it in your front yard. It’ll warn all women he’s a dirtbag.”

Hope poised the pencil against her lower lip, reviewing the spell. “Don’t I have to say something when I bury it, like a chant?”

What happened to being spell ignorant?

“Bury it in the moonlight while saying … ” Monica scrambled for a few rhyming lines, “moonlight, glowing bright, warn all women in your sight, the man who lives in this house, is a dirtbag and a total louse.”

“Perfect.” Hope sprang from the bed, looking inspired. “Kyle’s at work. I’m going over to the house right now to bury that sock.” She turned and marched out, a woman on a mission.

Monica nibbled nervously on her fingernail. Hope wouldn’t seriously go through with casting the spell, would she? A big part of spell casting was psychological, focusing all your energy on making something happen. Monica had never seen Hope look so determined, or vindictive. Hopefully, if she did cast the spell the negative energy didn’t return threefold.

What was the worst that could happen?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Eliza Daly’s first attempt at creative writing was in fourth grade. She and her friends were huge Charlie’s Angels fans and she would sit in her bedroom at night writing scripts for them to act out at recess the following day. She was Kelly Garrett. Fast forward to the present, she’s still writing stories about beautiful women who always get their men. The journey from fourth grade script writer to published author wasn’t an easy one, but it was always an adventure and the final destination was well worth it.

When Eliza isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner, or tracing her ancestry roots through Ireland, she’s at home in Milwaukee working on her next novel, bouncing ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats Quigley and Frankie.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Today S.R. Howen is on the hot seat. I'm interviewing her as part of the Medicine Man 1 Blog Tour. Enjoy! And don't forget to
leave a comment. S. R. will be awarding a $10 Wild Child Publishing GC to a
randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Follow the tour and comment. The more you comment, the
better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

Hi S.R. Welcome to the Wild Side. I can't wait to hear about your book, but first I have some questions about you.

What environment do you like to write in? Do you use a pen and paper, laptop? Quiet room, music or what? Dog at your feet? Cat on the desk? Must have snack?

I need to clean the area around me before I write. I have a stack of note cards that I use to put down details I may need later, like a minor character’s name and description, or an event or historical something I need to look up later that I keep near me. I listen to music, each book develops its own soundtrack, and thank technology that they have soundproof ear buds, before them I drove everyone crazy with playing the soundtrack over and over sometimes at the start of a book it would be only one or two songs played over and over for 10 hours straight.

Dog at my feet, cat on the desk, raccoon at my back, and squirrels to the right of me, exit stage left for coffee and bathroom breaks.

Before I start to write I have to have my coffee, a large container of water, and something to snack on—usually popcorn or nuts.

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

I often stare out the window or have my eyes shut while I write. I’m vision impaired, almost legally blind, but even before that I didn’t look down at the keys, and didn’t look at the screen. I will talk to people while I write or watch TV and my fingers just keep following the flow in my head.

Please tell us about your current release.

Medicine Man I: The Chief of All Time is the first in a three book series based on Native American stories and myths. The MC, Shannon Running Deer left his way of life behind him when he left the reservation. Now years later he needs the things from his past to survive in the past.

The story is a supernatural/paranormal story. But it is also a story about coming to terms with your past, with your parents' ideals, and figuring out your own path, and accepting what you are because of what your past was.

There is also a romantic element to the story. The woman, whom Shannon falls in love with, is out of his reach, and not the sort of woman he ever wanted to be with—a Native American traditionalist.

All the elements must come together for him to survive and make a better future, not only for himself, but for everyone whose lives he’s touched.

Is there a part of the story you really liked but had to remove, and if so, could you tell us why?

Medicine Man I is based on a Siksika (Blackfoot) story about why they don’t kill mice. I also incorporated a number of other myths and why stories into it. Every few chapters I had one of those myths put in as a separate chapter. The book reached 120k and In giving it an honest look, I realized that while entertaining and informative, the myth chapters slowed the progress of the book. So I needed to take them out. On the plus side, in the print edition of Medicine Man I, the myth the story is based on is included.

How does your family feel about the book?

This book, they’ve been waiting for a long time to see it published. On my writing in general, they have always been supportive of it, knowing that when mom has her ear buds in, do not disturb.

Do you write every day? Do you ever get writer's block?

I do write every day. I have a schedule that I stick to. So many hours of marketing, so many hours of editing (I am also an editor) and then so many words per day. My goal is at least 2500 words per day. Most days I hit 5k at least.

Writer’s block, no I never get it. Writing is a business, and like any other job, you can’t call in sick when the mood isn’t right. So once you have trained yourself to write once you sit at your desk, I don’t think it will happen. Are there days it feels like trying to get a sliver out my finger that I can’t see, yes. But tough days happen in any job, you push on and have a better day tomorrow.

Do new characters just pop into your head while writing or do you build them first and then add them in?

I write organically. What do they call it these days, pantsing it? I have no idea what the story is going to be about, or who the characters are, until they come out of the keyboard. I don’t even know the MC’s name until I type it.

How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

A lot. I spend about 3 to 4 hours each day on marketing. It’s a lot of work, my publisher, Wild Child Publishing, has done some marketing for me. But in the case of any author, you have to do a lot of marketing, if you want your book to sell. A product can’t sell if no one knows it’s out there to buy.

Have you ever gone out in public with your shirt on backwards, or your slippers on, and when realizing it, just said screw it?

I laughed at this question. Never gone out with my shirt on backwards, have in my slippers, don’t think anyone noticed, they aren’t the big furry kind. The thing I usually say screw it on, is fur. We have a lot of critters in the house, so even when you notice you are covered in fur, it wouldn’t matter, the moment you put something on it becomes a fur magnet. If I were smart, I’d take stock in a lint roller company.

Do you go out of your way to kill bugs? Are there any that make you screech and hide?

No. We put spiders out, it’s bad luck to kill one in the house, other bugs, except flies and mosquitoes, get the same treatment. The only bug I cannot stand, the one that makes me squeal like a little girl, is a scorpion. Killed one once in the bathtub with hairspray, and then had to psych myself up, after three days, to use the vacuum to get it out of there. And then used gloves to empty the container on the vacuum. Insane. At least we have two bathrooms, I couldn’t even go in there while it was plastered to the bottom of the tub. Had to make sure it was dead for sure. And it was only 2 inches long.

Medicine Man I: Chief of All Time

by S. R.
Howen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Shannon Running Deer is American Indian by
blood, he has forsaken his people's ancient ways to embrace the
"modern" world as a wealthy, highly successful trauma surgeon.

His comfortable existence begins to unravel when, seemingly by chance,
Shannon finds himself gradually drawn into the past. Pursued by an ancient
evil, he knows he can change the future, if he can survive the past.

In the tradition of Diana Gabaldon, S.R. Howen's MEDICINE MAN is a
distinctive and atmospheric novel full of spirituality, mystical time travel,
passion, and suspense.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

I ducked behind the lab table and made my way to the far side
of the room. I crouched behind the drawer unit of the farthest table. The wolf
didn’t follow me. I couldn’t chance looking around the corner of the table to
see where he was. The soft sounds of someone walking across the floor made my
nerves stretch tight and sing with fear.

“I’ve got everything put together,” a woman said. Doctor Martins?

The second person made a small sound of agreement, but didn’t
speak. Pages rattled, and a drawer opened.

“The instructions are in here. I included a set in the shell
itself--just in case you need them.”

Another sound of agreement from the second person.

“It would have been a lot easier to put this stuff on a disk.”

“No disks. I already told you--no trail of any sort.” He sounded
angry and annoyed.

A key turned in a lock, and a hinge squeaked. Something heavy
got set down on the lab table I had been at earlier.

What was going on? The room door swung open.

“You aren’t supposed to be in here,” Doctor Martins said.

Her voice had risen in tone--someone caught doing something
they shouldn’t have been.

“I have to check all the doors. Once every hour on this floor.
Who are you?” I assumed it was a guard asking.

“Doctor Martins,” she answered. “This is my lab.”

“And him?”

“My assistant,” Doctor Martins said too quickly.

The guard’s shoes made a sound on the floor. “Well, you need
to lock the door, even when you’re inside.” The door opened again before it
shut with a click. The guard had locked the door from the outside. I wondered
briefly if I needed a key from the inside.

“You told me there wouldn’t be a guard,” the man said. He
sounded threatening.

“I don’t even know who that guy is. The other guard was a lazy
fool. He spent most his shifts on the phone with his girlfriend.”

“And if this new guard reports you were here?”

“He won’t,” Doctor Martins said.

The man stayed silent. His lack of continued protests seemed
wrong.

Another cabinet opened, and something else got set on the
lab table.

“How much is here?” the man asked.

“What we agreed on--you could vaccinate everyone in China,”
Doctor Martins answered. She let out a nervous little laugh.

“And the other?”

“Everything I promised. It self-replicates, so you can use it
in the field--and each time it replicates the structure mutates so it can fight
bigger and better bugs.” She laughed again.

“Very good,” the man said.

There was a slight sound, like the brushing of fabric over something
hard. One of the two gasped followed by a loud thump that made me startle. I
barely kept from smacking my head on the metal drawers behind me. A sulfurous
smell drifted across the room.

Latches snapped shut, and papers got shuffled. What had happened?
I carefully peered around the edge of the drawer unit. Doctor Martins lay on
her back on the floor. Blood seeped from beneath her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

For
more than 12 years, S.R. Howen has been an editor at Wild Child Publishing and
Freya’s Bower. She also runs workshops on how to craft a winning synopsis and
query letter. Over the last few months
S.R. Howen has been working on Medicne Man 2: Raven, as well as a second Forge
book for Freya's Bower under the pen name Shaunna Wolf. She is also working on an epic fantasy series
of books, and a Erotic Romance set in the 1980’s. Under her pen name Vic Ross she is working on
a SciFi humor series.

A
former military brat, then military spouse, and a traditional naturalist, S.R.
Howen currently lives in Texas, with a dozen cats (three of them the
non-domestic sort) two squirrles, one raccoon, one dog, and her daughter. She
works with wilf life rehab and rescue as well as running a cat shelter and
rescue. For more info on her and her works please visit her web site or her
facebook page.